Look, About This Trinity River Thing, Jim Just Knows More Than You. Deal With It.

D Publisher Wick Allison has devoted his publisher's note in the December issue to a discussion of whether Jim Schutze is totally correct or totally full of it about the Trinity River Project. Since I am Jim Schutze (for now, at least -- my plan to change my name and escape to Ohio at midnight is on hold), I think I should probably respond. I'm going to do that in my column in next week's paper version of Unfair Park.

Allison makes some cogent points about the public process that produced the current version of the Trinity River Plan, Dallas' version of the Big Dig. But I think certain huge changes in the financial picture for the plan, mainly in terms of the amount local taxpayers will have to burden, are unknown or opaque to him.

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I don't think he knows about these impacts. Almost nobody does. My problem is, I do.

And I blame myself for not getting the point across better in earlier columns. Last time I tried, I got too bogged down in personal criticisms of our mayor, who does, by the way, drive me crazy sometimes. She is able to convey more certitude and more acuity on the basis of less actual knowledge than anybody I have ever known.

The perfect newspaper columnist, in other words. I'm just jealous.

Anyway, next week in the Observer: less of her, more of Wick Allison and the facts. I promise. (I bet that Allison guy's quaking in his boots right now.) --Jim Schutze